This is a significant fault line within the Commission for Victims and Survivors - Nesbitt

Mike Nesbitt was shocked to read the current Victims` Commissioner`s views. 

Mr Nesbitt said: 

"As a former Victims` Commissioner I am highly aware of sensitive nature of her position, but frankly, if her aim is to avoid offence by refusing to name the obvious, she will fail in her statutory duties, chief among which is to "promote the interests of victims and survivors. 

“90% of all Troubles-related deaths were the responsibility of Republican and Loyalist terrorists. The IRA alone account for 60% of the total. Given the No Warning bomb was the IRA's weapon of choice, we can safely assume more than 60% of the living injured were made victims and survivors by the Provisional IRA. Ms Stone cannot imagine she is promoting the interests of those victims with this nonsensical stance. 

"Her position raises some key questions. If not terrorists, does she think they were criminals? If so, that will anger a significant section of her stakeholders. If not, the logic of her position is that those who did serve time were falsely imprisoned. That is frankly ludicrous. 

"I would also challenge Ms Stone to state whether she believes the murders of Sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar, police officers Stephen Carroll and Ronan Kerr and of prison officer David Black were acts of terrorism or not. 

"This is a significant fault line within the Commission for Victims and Survivors. The Ulster Unionist Party will not be found wanting in challenging the Commissioner on this fundamental point. There can be no re-writing of history."

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